One sweet girl I know replied to me: "Why don't you just order them directly from Target's website, or from the toy company's website, instead of going to all this trouble?" Obviously she doesn't know how our hobby works more often than not, but why CAN'T we just order them, like we would a shirt or a blanket or a DVD or a refrigerator?

LOL, now that is funny. Everytime i complain to my freinds about JLU they usually ask me the same thing, why don't i just order them online!

So it seems like once a new figure is released, going almost everyday seems to work for you guys. I envy you guys that can make it to Target first thing in the morning! Since i've seem the remains of the Mr. Miracle shipment i'm going to try going (almost) everyday to Target in hopes of finding Mr. Miracle and Fire and Ice. And as much as it kills me, maybe a weekend morning? Is Saturday or Sunday a good day for restocking?

Edit: I see Scott Rogers said Saturday is a good day to look. Has anyone else had success on a Saturday? I don't think i have but i have never been to Target early than 6pm on a Sat! Lazy me i know!

I have had some luck on a Saturday morning at Target. Thats when I found the Sand, Obsidian, Barda wave. There is only one Target near me, so there aren't many places to find new JLU. I try to check once weekly, but don't always do so. It's very hard to continue to go back time and again to see nothing hanging or nothing but Batman and Superman on the shelves.

I've never seen Volcana or the Grodd set. I've had to rely on the kindness of others here and at the Hall of Justice to (mostly) complete my JLU collection.

I don't go nearly enough. Probably average once a week. Sporadic days and times. I would go every day but I carpool. Another problem is that I start work at 8 and that's when Target opens. None close enough where I can squeeze it in. So I either have to run out at lunch or convince my carpool mate to stop on the way home.

I agree with the "you better be there the day they show up or your screwed" statement. How crappy is that?

Anyway, here's hoping that Grodd, Star Sapphire, Sand, Deadshot, and Barda find their way out again this year!

The only time I look for them anymore is when I'm already in the store looking for something else. Things were supposed to get better, but people are still going to Target every day to look for Fire and Ice, only to come home with nothing. I've only heard of one Grodd sighting in my city, and that was today. When (if) Mattel gets their act together, I'll care again. Maybe.

I check one, maybe two Targets every single day. Maybe once a month, I get lucky.

_________________'...because the minute a little girl is trampled by 100 teenage girls trying to get to Justin Beiber at the Tea Cups, you will be wondering why the hell we make poor Justin Beiber stand in a 30 minute line and create an unsafe atmosphere.'

I don't buy snacks, drinks, or other items. I get OUT of the store as quickly as possible. I only purchase additional items when I've got figures in hand and will be standing in line anyway. The store does not benefit from my increased traffic UNLESS I FIND TOYS.

Now that I've established that the whole 'chase' concept is completely wasted on me:

I've got 4 Targets I can hit each day. Two on the way to work, two on the way home. I can reverse the route, and hit the afternoon two in the morning (if that makes sense). Occasionally I'll go to another on my lunch hour, but I'm cutting back on that with gas so high. When I'm on the hunt, I'll stop every single day, but again, they're on my way. On weekends, I'll hit any Target that I'm near, but I don't much bother with Sat/Sun morning runs with gas so high. They've almost never paid off for me. I generally look until the item price on eBay drops low enough for me to buy, and then I stop actively looking and drop back to stopping a couple times a week.

I've never seen any rhyme or reason to restocking -- I've never noticed a day that's better or worse. My feeling is that new stuff shows up before the weekend (Thurs or Fri), and sometimes on Monday, but that's not backed with hard data, that's just my sense from stopping so often. I've found stuff in the AM (my Miracle set) and in the afternoon (the Miracle set I got for Lou).

Finally, I don't ask store employees for help at all. It wastes time (don't want to be late for work), and I've never had one provide any assistance whatsoever, no matter how politely I ask or whether I take my angelic little daughter or anything else. The Orlando area is heavily scalped (or collected, if you will -- potato, potahto) in a variety of lines (Hot Wheels, figures, etc.), and the employees have. heard. it. all. The handful I've managed to get talking tell me that there are several people who are in almost every single morning at store opening (and I've seen them, so I know it's true). So finding anything is almost pure luck.

Bottom line: Most of my recent JLU acquisitions were off eBay. Otherwise I'd never have seen them.

I don't buy snacks, drinks, or other items. I get OUT of the store as quickly as possible. I only purchase additional items when I've got figures in hand and will be standing in line anyway. The store does not benefit from my increased traffic UNLESS I FIND TOYS.

Now that I've established that the whole 'chase' concept is completely wasted on me:

Thank you for saying that. I do not reward retail stores that have failed to stock what I want by purchasing other items. Also, I never shop at Wal-Mart for anything unless I'm there looking for toys. I hate the place, but if I find what I went hunting, I sometimes pick up other stuff, simply for the convenience of not having to make another stop.

Bryan Long wrote:

Finally, I don't ask store employees for help at all. It wastes time (don't want to be late for work), and I've never had one provide any assistance whatsoever, no matter how politely I ask or whether I take my angelic little daughter or anything else.

The Orlando area is heavily scalped (or collected, if you will -- potato, potahto) in a variety of lines (Hot Wheels, figures, etc.), and the employees have. heard. it. all. The handful I've managed to get talking tell me that there are several people who are in almost every single morning at store opening (and I've seen them, so I know it's true). So finding anything is almost pure luck.

I've heard the stories of employees who won't help, but that has not been my experience. Orlando definitely is a big collecting town, though, so I don't doubt anything you've said.

Bryan and Caped Crusader, I had a very friendly and helpful Target redshirt scan the JLU pegs for me on the day before Christmas, told me they had a whole unopened case in the back, and cheerfully volunteered to bring it out to me (since the pegs were a mess and had to be restocked anyway). Unfortunately, it was an older case with no new 3-packs in it, but it was one of the rare times the redshirts have been helpful. I forgot if this was at Oviedo or Altamonte -- I hit both that day.

The Casselberry store is the one I check the most, living as close as I do. They've had the same seven 3-packs for over a week now. Two Trinity sets, two Bats/Joker/Canary sets, Justice Lords Supes/Bats/Hawkgirl, Flash/Dr. Fate/Starman, and the same lonely Supes/Aquaman/Dr. Light set that was all alone on the pegs the entire week before Christmas and never got bought. Sometimes I signal the redshirts and ask them to scan the pegs to check for more, but they haven't gotten anything else since this current case of six has gone untouched for so long.

Frankly, I'd sooner blame Mattel than Target for these problems, but I'm like you in that I don't linger to buy other things when my toy hunts come up empty. I will happily drop some money at Target on random stuff, but only if I hit the jackpot in the action figure aisle to begin with.

I should clarify, Caped Crusader, because I sounded pretty snarky. The employees are usually quite polite, but simply refuse to check the stockroom or anything like that. I've no doubt it's largely management policy, rather than a personal decision (although a couple have made it clear that they are exasperated with collectors). I don't hold it against them -- I've just learned that it's not an effective use of my time to make inquiries.

Also, it's difficult to make the argument that employees should bring out another case when there are 9 Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman 3-packs and 16 Batman/Superman/WW singles on the pegs. Which, again, is not the employees' fault.

Target: once per week. I go mentoring on Tuesday mornign at the local Junior High at 7:45 in the morning. Target is between there and work. I stop in and do my weekly look for toys on my way from mentoring to work that day.

TRU: I only pass TRU on the way home from the comic book shop. I get my comics every two or three weeks. The drive is too far to justify going every week (no, DC Comics, stories like 52 and COuntdown will not make me go more often).

I also play HeroClix once a week, about 3 out of 4 weeks, at an alternate comic shop and buy my HeroClix there, usually a brick (10 boxes) or two when each new DC set comes out.

Everytime I'm in Target or TRU...Yet I still need to find Deadshot, Barda, Star Saphire, Sand and the Blue Devil...And now I've read there's a new wave of 3-Packs out with Mr. Miracle that I have to find as well.